Rapid
by Havah Kinny
Summary: [Brick] Brendan finds himself forced to pull himself together long enough to save someone he hardly knows, in a race against time to preserve a love that he may not even believe in. Can he even love again, and can he survive? [bad summary]
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N ok, so I know that this is my first Brick fic, and I don't know all of the slang, so I have used some that me and my friends created, I know, it's not too good, but read it anyway! I'll footnote phrases and re-word them at the bottom. _**

_**Havah**_

----Introduction----

It was almost a year after the loss of Emily. Brendan was still not quite over his experience. He missed her, and he was unsure of whether he is over all of what happened or not.

----Story----

Brendan walked to school, and sighed. _I guess I'm going today, _he thought as he looked at the whitewash building looming in front of him. Since the incident last year, he had only been school about three quarters of the time, it didn't really seem important anymore, he knew where he was going to college, as he had already been accepted, and he knew what he wanted to be in life, and that he wanted to get away from California. Raising his eyebrows and shrugging his shoulders, he stepped inside the school. Walking coolly and leisurely, he made his way to Advanced Senior English. _What a joke, if I wanted to skim Hamlet for the second time, I'd join a book club, _Brendan hated that class, but he went anyway, Brain was in it with him.

"Mr. Frye, you're late, again."

"Sorry Mrs. Klein, won't happen again," muttered Brendan. He spoke quietly, but clearly so everyone heard him.

"You said that last time you came to class, which was two days ago, were you sick?" Mrs. Klein smiled, she knew he hadn't been sick, but she knew he'd have his homework, even the stuff assigned from the day he's missed.

"Yes ma'am, real sick," Brendan allowed the small possibility of a smile to cross his face, but only for a second.

"Alright then, class, pop quiz over last nights reading," Mrs. Klein went around passing out the tests. Brendan took his without complaint, and looked down at the single question on the paper. _Compare and contrast Hamlet and his uncle. Great, a lame ass question designed to "test my mind" as if that question could stump. _Brendan groaned a little, and started writing. The time dripped by, and Brendan let out a sigh of relief as the bell's ring echoed through out the classroom. Brain walked up to him, and smiled.

"35th tardy 11th to Mrs. Klein's class, 5th detention and the principal's secretary will ask to see you after lunch."

"Talk any faster and you might confuse someone." Brendan didn't look up at his friend, or question his stats, he was never wrong.

"Someone maybe, but not you, I don't have to worry about that around you. You still brown baggin' behind the portables, or do you ditch for lunch and come back?" No one ever saw Brendan unless he wanted to be seen, including Brain.

"Portables, why? Someone scouting?" Brendan looked up at his friend and squinted as light put a glare in his glasses.

"Yeah, there's been this ace snooping around the last couple of days, I think he may be a rat, but I can't say for sure, not yet. No one seems to have the tech on him yet, but it fiddles me how something like that can stay secret so long." Brain looked a bit angry at the information.

"What, all of two days? You think he's in with Laura?" Brendan knew that Laura had gotten out of there the second he'd told her about turning her in. The thing with her was you could never be sure she'd actually left for good.

"Don't know, I told you, no one has the tech, could be though." Brain shrugged and acted as though it didn't matter.

"Locker number?"

"517."

"Well, there ya go; we have something on him then." Brendan picked up his pack and left the room without another word, Brain knew that was him and walked out behind him.

"Action?"

"Maybe, pick him out next time you see him and I'll decide if I need to note." Brendan continued his nonchalant tone, though he was a little scared there might be trouble again.

"Are you going to get back into the swing of the life we left last year?"

"I dunno, if I go are you with me?"

"Yeah, I'm up to it. Nothing's changed."

"Kay, then work out on getting the tech we need. Could be a kill though, no worrying yet." False alarms were constantly occurring in Brendan's life. He wouldn't have cared except the school called and told his mom that the girl that should have been arrested from the evidence Brendan provided on the drug bust. The police warned that he should keep guard and always tell someone if he thought she was back. _I'm not a baby, I can handle myself, _Brendan had thought, but he promised, so he did, he told Brain, who would help if necessary.

"Whoa, who's the green hat?" asked Brain, looking to where Brendan had been standing, but he had gone. "Brendan?" sighing, Brain turned back to look for the girl he had just seen walking in to the front office. _Huh, she must be knew, I'd better look in to this. Wonder where Brendan clapped to. _Brain thought, as he approached the office, waiting for the girl to walk out.

**_Ok, so this chapter's short cause it's introduction mainly, but now its done. Dictionary underneath. Tech means information, so phrases involving that won't be defined in the next chapter, same goes for ace, which means a bog guy, kill which means a false alarm, scouting, which means looking for someone or something, and rat, which means druggie._**

**Portables, why? Is someone looking for me?**

**Yeah, there's been this big guy snooping around, I think he may be a druggie, but I can't say for sure, no one seems to have the information on him yet It confuses me that he's managed to keep that secret.**

**I don't know, I told you, know one has the information on him yet.**

**Maybe, show him to me next time you see him and I'll decide if I need to look out for him.**

**Ok, then work on getting the information we need. It could be a false alarm though.**


	2. Chapter 2

Brendan waited through his classes, all of which posed absolutely no challenge to him whatsoever. In trig, he tapped his pencil on the desk, waiting for the lunch bell to ring. _Maybe I'll leave at lunch, who knows. Come on bell, ring, this isn't hard! _As if answering his prayers, the bell rang. Brendan grabbed up his book and bag, and walked coolly out of the room towards the back of the portables. Sitting on the wall as he usually did, he opened his brown sack, and took out the contents of his lunch. _An apple, and cookie, good lunch today, I thought I put a piece of bread in there though, oh well, _thought Brendan, not really caring. _Another lunch day all alone! Thanks goodness no one else eats back here. _

"Brendan?" A voice from behind him made Brendan look up halfway through his cookie.

"Maybe, depends on whose scouting him." asked Brendan, wanting to be careful in case it was one of Laura's people.

"Oh, sorry, you must think I'm awful for not introducing myself. I'm Amala Bates." Brendan's eye was caught by the green hat on her head, the same one that Brain had noticed earlier.

"No, not really, couldn't really care less. What do you need?"

"Brain said to look for you here, said you needed a friend, to be alone a little bit less. Brendan sighed. _Leave it up to Brain to gum up my life with a girl, it won't work. _

"Well, I'm fine alone." Brendan turned back to his cookie, not caring about this girl, he still had eyes for Emily, and the last girl he messed with set him up.

"Oh, ok. Well since I'm here, I', going to eat, first day here so I don't know where else to eat." The girl sat down. Brendan didn't care, as long as she left him alone. "So, I heard about your drug bust last year."

"How did you hear about that?" She had his attention now.

"The papers, you didn't realize that it was published?" The girl seemed startled as she pulled out her sandwich, pulled the bread apart, groaned, and put it back in the bag. "Mustard and turkey, disgusting."

"Didn't know, don't care now, sorry about your sandwich." Brendan was beginning to get fed up, which was easy now.

"Ok, I thought it would be easier to get you to talk, Brain said you wanted a friend." The girl seemed as though she would back off, and Brendan thought he wanted that.

"He lied. I'm a loner, and that suits me just fine." They both sat there, finishing their lunches in silence, to Brendan's relief. When the bell rang, he made no motion to get up, but remained laying on the wall on the side of the alley reading his book.

"Aren't you going to class?" asked the girl.

"No." Brendan thought for a minute, and decided that was all he wanted to say on the subject.

"Why not? Do you want to fail?"

"No, I just don't feel like it, I won't fail anyway, I get all of the work done, I'll go tomorrow." He spoke with out ever looking up from his book.

"What are you reading that's so good?" The girl sat back down.

"Aren't you going to be late to class?" asked Brendan.

"Probably, it's my first day, 'I got lost.' It is a big school. Anyway, what's the book?" Brendan wasn't so unsure he didn't want company anymore.

"Old time favorite, "Young Men and Fire." It's about smoke jumpers, you would hate it." Brendan was still being distant, not sure who he can trust.

"Yes, I probably would. Listen, I heard all of what happened from Brain, you need to learn to trust again. I'm not saying me, and I'm not saying now, I'm just saying I saw you look behind when I spoke, and you don't have any sense of trust now."

"Listen," Brendan paused. "Amala, I'm sure you're great, but I really don't need to be told what to do, Brain has tried. I'm in the pilot seat on this one." _Who the hell does she think she is? This is NOT her business! _

"Alright, alright, I get it, Brain just thought…"

"LOOK! I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH BRAIN TOLD YOU, BUT LAST TIME I CHECKED, I'M NOT HIM!" Brendan interrupted the girl with a yell that surprised him almost as much as it surprised her.

"I'm sorry, I just thought I'd try and break some ice, try and make a friend, I didn't realize it was so hard in San Clemente." The girl stood up, and much to Brendan's relief walked away. After the last class, which Brendan did not attend, he searched for Brain.

"Brain, what the hell were you thinking telling some girl we don't have any tech on, who's knew that I need a friend." Brendan confronted the boy as he was leaving school.

"What are you talking about? I didn't tell anyone anything about you. Why would I do that? I'm your glasses." Brain looked just as surprised as Brendan had.

"Wait, w-what do you mean? The green hat, she knew who I was and where I ate lunch on her own? She also knew that you and I talk. This is bad!" Brendan was beginning to worry a little.

"Yeah man, I guess so. Is it time to start watching out?" asked Brain.

"Yes, it think it is."

"I can get the phone again, still have the number?" asked Brain, knowing Brendan would ask in a heartbeat if he didn't tell him already.

"Yeah, we're back in, watch out, and tail the green hat if you see it. Tell me everything you find out. I'm going home, call me at 7." Brendan walked home, and lay down on his bed, staring at the phone, waiting for 7. _This could be very bad, but we can pull it off again, I hope. _

** "What are you talking about? I didn't tell anyone anything about you. Why would I do that? I'm your look out."**


	3. Chapter 3

At exactly 7, Brendan's home telephone rang. "Brain?" was Brendan's answer.

"Yeah, so, I tailed that green hat girl you wanted, and this probably won't shock you too much, but she didn't go home after school." Brain didn't sound worried at which made Brendan's muscles relax a little.

"So, where _did _she go if she didn't go home?" Brendan waited for the answer with baited breath.

"You're very familiar with the school's auditorium dressing room after last year, and freshmen year of course, aren't you?"

"You mean she went to see Kara?" asked Brendan, not feeling so sure there was no trouble anymore.

"Yes, she went to see the drama vamp…"

"AND YOU DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS?" asked Brendan, suddenly lashing out at Brain.

"No, because, and calm down a little when before I say this, I heard what they were talking about."

"Ok, ok, I'll calm down, just tell me before I get riled up again." Brendan sighed, wanting Brain to get on with it already. "Just give me the tech man."

"Alright, alright, so here's the deal. She went to see Kara about you! You see, Kara told her about you, and where you'd be, but Kara didn't tell her anything else. Amala went back to see Kara to find out more about you. She said that you completely ignored her, and she wanted to know you better."

"But why did Kara tell her about me in the first place? She would never do that unless she wanted something from either Amala or me." Brendan twisted his finger nervously through the phone cord.

"Brendan, cool down, she just wanted to bug you. Everyone knows that you like being alone, and by sending some annoying little new girl who didn't know that would annoy you." Brain sighed at Brendan's worry. Brendan's muscle relaxed yet again, and this time, he felt a little surer about the situation.

"Alright, I'll let this one slide, but tail Kara, make sure she's not up to anything more then that."

"Alright, I'll try, but she's going to get suspicious, it's only been a year you know." Brain sounded as though he didn't feel comfortable tailing Kara.

"What's worrying you? No one ever sees you, and if they do, tell them you're working for me, you're just ops remember?" Brendan needed Brain, he knew that, and was willing to admit it.

"Ok, you don't have to harass me, I'll watch your gal tomorrow and let you know what she's up to, if anything. Now what about the ace who's been scouting you? I can't tail both him and Kara."

"Don't worry about him, just point him out to me, and I'll tail him. He's never seen me, I don't think, so I'll be able to get an accurate reading."

"You know, I hate saying this, but you might want to pull in more glass men on this one," suggested Brain.

"I would, but I can't trust anyone, not that we know of, unless you know someone you've worked with before." Brendan sounded a bit apprehensive, because Brain had never mentioned working glass for anyone but him.

I haven't ever worked glass other then you, but I've heard of this gal, who worked with one of my friends on something, nothing as big, but he said she was efficient and trustworthy," offered Brain.

"Yeah? Who'd she work with?" asked Brendan, mildly interested.

"Jeff Rodriguez, remember his work?"

"I remember hearing about, drug bust, smaller then the Pin, but pretty big, two years ago right?"

"Yup, that's the one. I can pull up the tech on her if you want me to."

"Why don't you do that, but don't put it before tailing Kara. I'm not saying we'll use her, but get me something, and I'll think about it."

"Will do, I'll talk to you tomorrow then?"

"See if you can get a hold of Jeff tonight, and call me at 10 if you get him. See what you can find out, the sooner we have the option of help, the better I guess." Sighing, Brendan hung up.

"Will do," Brain's phone beeped. "Brendan?" he hung up. _Why can't he just stay on the phone ling enough to finish out a conversation? _Brain picked up his phone again, and dialed a number. "Hello, Jeff?"

Brendan lay down on his bed again, hoping this was nothing. The only threat he felt at the moment was Kara, she could be a real bitch, and she wanted to get back at him for what he'd done last year. _Why would she have waited though? She didn't get caught up in the bust part of the incident; she has no reason to have waited. Unless…_Brendan's thought trailed, and he immediately grabbed at his phone. "Brain I think it's a set up, get off of Kara's tracks, trail Ace, got it?"

"Ok, but I have Jeff on the cell, I'll call you back at 10."The two boys hung up, Brain continued his informative talk with Jeff about extra glass. Brendan thought about Kara's involvement in what was going on. He answered most if his own questions, at least he thought he did, but one puzzled him. _How does Amala play in to this? _He asked himself. He mulled it over and over again, but he couldn't think of anything. She seemed innocent, according to Brain; she was, so why would Kara waste her time with transfers? _Kara's manipulative; maybe she'll get Amala involved without her even knowing what she was doing. _"This is way to complicated," Brendan said out loud to himself.

"Brendan? Did you say something?" he heard his mother's voice.

"Shit!" he whispered to himself. "Hi mom, how long have you been home?" _come on, please only a minute, only a minute._

"I only just walked in. What's wrong? You sound worried?"

"Oh, no, no I'm not worried. I have a lot of homework though, so if you could sort of give me time and space and quiet to do it that would be great. I may need to call Brain and get some help though, we have a detective simulation for…" Brendan thought for a moment. "Drama."

"You're taking drama!" asked his mom, shocked. "When did that happen?"

"Um, I just transferred in, the school said it would be good for me." Brendan was clearly lying, but his mother couldn't tell.

"Oh, well, alright. Don't let it hurt your GPA!"

"It doesn't matter mom, I'm already going to college! Early acceptance, Stanford, ring any bells?"

"I get it, I get it, just sleep tonight, ok?" Brendan made a weird mumbling sound, and his mom took the hint and left his door. _That was too close, hope she doesn't call the school. _Brendan got off his bed, and pulled his back pack off of the floor. Since there was nothing else he could do at the time, he decided to do the homework, since he would definitely be going to school tomorrow.

_**Ok, so the graduating word (the one I won't make notations on next chapter) is glass/glass men. Glass men are spies/operatives, and saying working glass basically means working as a glass man.**_

** You know, I hate saying this, but you might want to pull more operatives on this (spies pretty much.)**

** Brendan sounded a bit apprehensive, because Brain had never mentioned working as an operative for anyone but him.**


	4. Chapter 4

9:30, Brendan was beginning to grow apprehensive. Thoughts had begun to change around and he wasn't sure if this was going well or not. _Amala could be anyone, absolutely anyone, as could our Ace. Why can't people just learn to leave me alone? Once I figure out what's going on and who everybody is, I'm out. I don't want to get into anything like I did last year. _Sighing, Brendan began to wonder what he would do anyway. Even if they were working for Laura, it didn't matter, she would get him, or she wouldn't.

Brendan cursed as the phone rang, he had been lost in thought and it had startled him. "Yeah?"

"Hey, I just talked to Jeff. He told me about Samantha, the girl I told you about."

"Ok, and?" Brendan fumbled around for a piece of paper, incase he needed it.

"Well, he said she was the best ops he's ever had. All he could talk about with me was that she did good work, and no one caught. Discussing the personal stuff would have to wait until after we'd cleared it with her. He did give me a number where she could be reached though." Brain sounded a little smug on the phone, and Brendan grabbed a pen off of the floor.

"Ok, lay it on me."

"405-666-9264." Brendan scribbled down the number quickly.

"Alright. I'll give her a call, then call you back."

"Bye" threw in Brain, but Brendan had already hung up. He was sitting on his bed, fiddling with the piece of paper, juggling around in his head whether he really needed more glass or not. _Well, I guess it can't hurt to at least check it out. _Brendan decided finally, and punched the numbers in on his phone.

"Sam," the voice on the other end answered.

"Hey, I got your number from Jeff Rodriguez. He said you were good ops. Is that the case?"

"Depends," the girl sounded interested.

"On?"

"Well, who you are, what the deal is, and how you pay of course."

"Who I am can't be said over the phone just yet, the deal is a tail on Kara, you know the drama slut for at least two days, the pay is contingent on the quality of the work."

"Ok, I'll consider it. When do you want to meet?"

"Tomorrow, 5:30 A.M, behind the portables at school."

"Oh, Brendan. Never thought you'd call for help." He thought that he could hear the faint trace of a smile over the phone.

"Wow, you are good." Even Brendan was mildly impressed, he gave her one hint, and he knew he'd never spoken to her, she wouldn't know his voice.

"Thanks, I try. See you at 5:30," and before Brendan had a chance to hang up, the dial tone came up, and the girl was gone.

"Brain, I think she's in. She's good."

"Wow, you trust her already?"

"I don't trust her, I don't plan on giving her all of the details, she's going to be on Kara. You take the Ace."

"Got it. Get some sleep."

"Yeah, right. Night. See you in the morning, 5:30 behind the portables."

"So much for sleep. See you then." Both boys hung up, and Brendan finally got up from his bed. Heading down to the kitchen, he opened the fridge, pulled out a carton of organic 2 milk, and drank right out of the top.

"You know I hate it when you do that Brendan." He turned, and saw his mother standing in the doorway watching him.

"And you know that I only do it when I'm really stressed out and plan on finishing it off." Brendan took another swig of milk from the carton as his mother rolled her eyes.

"Your father used to do that." She laughed and smiled, but Brendan couldn't see how.

"Well, look how he turned out, he left mom, he's not coming back." Brendan couldn't see how she could forgive him for that, but it seemed as though she had.

"I know honey, but sometimes you have to forgive,"

"And forget," Brendan cut in. "Mom, I don't want to remember him, ok? If you want to, go ahead, but I don't." Brendan was pissed now, and he wasn't even sure why.

"You can't forget, he's your father, you look just like him," said his mother lovingly.

"NO I DON'T!" yelled Brendan, wanting nothing to do with his absent father.

"Brendan, you can't help that you have his genes. Just calm down, and go to bed." His mom tried to hug him, but he pulled away.

"Night." Brendan turned back to his milk, and took one last large group. Then he stomped as hard as he could on the container. "GOD DAMMIT!" he yelled after his mom had left. In an attempt to feel better, he then proceeded to boot the milk carton across the floor. It flew in the air, and then hit the door that led to the garage. Though he didn't feel much better, he felt less stressed. Walking back to his room, Brendan thought about how angry he still was at his father, who had left him at a fairly young age, but he was old enough to remember what a wreck his father had been before. He had beat Brendan, who still had a couple of scars on his torso from the many belts that he had been hit with. At the same time, he had loved his father, and had been crushed when he left. _Well, screw this, he's gone, and there's nothing to be done. I just wish that mom wasn't still in love with him. _Brendan reached his room, took off his shirt, pulled on sweatpants, and lay down to go to sleep. About 45 minutes later, he was out like a light, but it was an unpleasant sleep. He tossed, and turned, and had nightmares that he couldn't remember the next morning, but he was sure that they involved Emily, as most of his nightmares had since last year.


	5. Chapter 5

Brendan rolled out of bed at 4:30 the next so as to be sure to make it to his meeting with Samantha on time. He took a quick shower, changed into jeans and a grey t-shirt, grabbed a bagel on his way out the door, and walked to school. With his hands shoved deeply in his pockets, he approached the area behind the portables, and was surprised to see a girl with dirty blond hair tied back tightly in a ponytail. Approaching her, he attempted to conceal his surprise that she was early. As he got closer, he noticed that she was smoking. "Hey, I didn't know you'd be here early, wait, you are Samantha right?" The girl took a last drag on her cigarette, and then put it out, dropping it on the ground before answering.

"Yeah, I'm Samantha Paulson, call me Sam. I'm tailing Kara?"

"Ok, yeah, that's the plan. Just report to me everyday at this number…" The girl cut him off before he could finish.

"Here's my private work like, call me at the time you want the report, and I'll give it to you. Don't give it out to anyone, and don't talk to me in public, got it?" Brendan nodded. "Salary wise, what do you think is fair?"

"I dunno, what's your going rate?" Brendan was rather stunned by her forwardness and how prepared she seemed.

"I don't have one, everyone pays different for different jobs, and I'd say no less then fifty a day for this one."

"Then fifty a day it is. 25 at the start of each day, and 25 at the end, sound good?"

"Yeah, sounds great." Sam nodded as Brendan pulled out his wallet and handed her 25. She asked no questions about how he came across the cash, but she knew it was from his bust of the Pin last year. "Alright, I'll here from you tonight."

"Wait, there's just one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"I want you to keep in communication with The Brain, you know who I mean I'm sure, give him this number as well, he'll give you his, alright?"

"Whatever." The girl took the money that he was holding out, and walked away. "Thanks for the work." Brendan headed toward the library, where he promptly opened a book, and began reading. This is what he did when ever he came to school early. He was smart, and everyone knew it, sometimes they thought him stuck up for reading so much in public, but the more he could read, the more relaxed he felt, so he didn't feel the need to pretend he wasn't smart.

"Brendan?"

"HOLY SHIT!" Brendan jumped up, his book flying up in the air, then promptly hitting him on the head. "OUCH!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to scare you, I just, well never mind." Brendan recognized Amala's voice, and expected that she would leave after apologizing, but to his great surprise, and slight annoyance, she sat down. "How are you?"

"Ok, listen," Brendan sighed. "What do you want from me?"

"Well, I was hoping for a friend."

"First thing about me, I'm not a good friend, second thing is, I'm dangerous, I get in trouble, and I don't care about anyone." Brendan knew he was coming off harsh, but he was telling the truth, at least most of it was the truth.

"I don't care Brendan. I've known dangerous people before, I'm still here, and about you not caring about anyone, I don't believe that."

"Oh, why not?" Brendan didn't care, but this girl wasn't leaving.

"You did it for her."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The bust, it wasn't about the drugs, it was about the girl they found in the car, Emily." Brendan threw the book back on the table.

"Listen, I don't have time for this." He stood to leave, but she stopped him.

"You do, it's only 6:15, school doesn't start for almost two hours." Brendan sighed, knowing there wasn't a decent excuse to leave at the moment.

"Ok…" Brendan sat back down.

"You like to think you're a loner, but when you meet someone that you care about, you change, completely. If you could just be that way towards a friend, you could change into someone who doesn't need to watch their own back all the time." Brendan was caught up in her words. For some reason, they touched him deeper then anything Brain had ever said, but not near as deeply as the words he and Emily had shared when their relationship was flourishing, not anywhere near as deeply as nights that they had spent together. Thoughts drifting into memories of a tranquil, loved filled past, now forgotten filled Brendan's head, and he completely forgot Amala was sitting next to him as a single, salty tear filled his left eye. "Brendan?"

"Um, yeah?" Brendan quickly, and painfully came back into the cold world surrounding him.

"Are you alright? You look, well, sad I guess. Did I say something wrong?" Amala looked worried.

"Um, no, you're fine." Brendan had no idea what he was saying. He wanted her to leave, but at the same time, he didn't.

"Brendan, whatever you're thinking of, snap out of it, it can't be good for you." Amala noticed that he suddenly changed, and she thought that maybe she had accidentally aroused a feeling or memory in him that gave him peace.

"What are you talking about? I'm not thinking about anything, I'm just…blank," Brendan lied, not wanting to show this girl any compassion.

"You're lying to me, which I expected, but try to be my friend, please?" asked the girl. Brendan was confused about why she was so adamant on becoming his friend, but it wasn't pissing him off so much anymore. The more she spoke, the more she reminded him of Emily.

"I'm trying, but you're just going to have to understand that I can't trust anyone right now, alright?" Brendan had no idea what was consuming, but it wasn't something that he had felt since Emily.

"Alright, but I hope that you learn to trust me." Amala wanted a friend, but she was afraid that she was coming off as wanting a romantic relationship, which with him, she wasn't sure about. _Well, I mean he's gorgeous, but he's in love with a memory, still. I don't think I want to be with hi, not yet at least. _"I think we should pick a subject and learn about each other."

"Um, ok. What's your favorite type of music?" asked Brendan.

"I like soft rock, and some jazz."

"Oh." Brendan gulped. _That's the same as Emily. _

"Well, what do you like?"

"I dunno, classic rock, harder rock, and old rock, you know basically 50s through late 80s. So yeah."

"Oh, well that's not bad either I guess. Where do you stand on movies?"

"I don't." Brendan hadn't seen a movie since he was with Emily, and he really didn't plan on it.

"Ok then, books?"

"Anything really, you?"

"Well, I love romance novels, but that's typical girl stuff, as are the classics, and then I just like random fantasy and fiction, so yeah, that's basically it." Brendan sighed again, this girl was so much like Emily that it was frightening. Aside form the fact that she looked totally different, they might have been the same person.


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N Ok, So this is slightly important to me, I don't really care about the reviews, though I like to get them, but if anyone is actually even reading this story, could they please let me know? Because the one review I do have is from my best friend, who hasn't even read the story. I would really appreciate knowledge of whether this is actually being looked at by anyone other then her. I don't care if you flame, just let me know my work isn't going to waste!_**

_**Thank you ever so much, **_

_**Your author in training,**_

_**Havah**_

Amala and Brendan talked for a few more minutes, Brendan thinking more and more that this girl was just like Emily. At about 7, Brendan left to go and find Brain, because he needed to fill him in on the new ops. Once he filled him in and told him to be on the look out for Sam as well as the guy that he was to tail, Brendan adjusted the straps on his backpack, and headed towards school. Today, the classes didn't seem endless as they had yesterday, but they weren't as interesting as they could have been. By the time lunch hit, Brendan was grateful for it. He pulled his brown bag lunch out of his locker, and walked to his usual area behind the portable, trying to decide if he wanted Amala to show up again. In the long run, he decided, it didn't really matter, either would be fine. She didn't.

He heard the bell ring from inside the portables, and he slowly pulled himself to feet, and headed off for his last two classes. After school, he went to the library briefly, then after the school had cleared out a little, he proceeded to walk towards his house. Just outside of the campus boundary, he was jerked backwards into a side alley and found himself face to face with a guy who looked familiar, but Brendan couldn't place the face. "Why are you having me tailed by the bookworm with the thick glasses?" asked the boy, who, when Brendan thought about it, was almost twice his size.

"Oh, so _you're _the ace who's been poking around. I don't know, thought you may pose a threat, I see I was correct." Now Brendan knew that the guy was looking for a fight, and Brendan didn't see any reason not to inflame this guy, so he half smiled. Without warning, the guy threw a punch that knocked Brendan harder off of his feet then any punch he had felt before. Then he was able to place the face.

"Is that enough of a message to get you to stop following me?" Brendan stood up quickly, completely ignoring the blood pouring from his nose and the gash on his left jaw from the boys ring.

"I'm afraid not, especially now." Brendan still smiled half heartedly.

"Why especially now?"

"You are a lot like your brother, aren't you? You're strong and a good fighter, but not the brightest person ever."

"What the hell? Do you know who you're messing with?" asked the boy dangerously.

"Well, not certain, but I'm pretty sure you're Tugger's brother." Brendan could tell that he had struck a nerve in his discovery, and it would probably cause his nerves to act up. He readied himself to take another hit as the boy fumed. When it came, Brendan found himself back on the ground again. This time the boys ring had caught his stomach, which was now bleeding as well. "Ok, well I can see we aren't going to do this the simple way." Brendan stood up, though he couldn't completely ignore the pain anymore, put his glasses in their case, and waited for another swing to head his way. This time when it did, he was ready, and blocked with a hit of his own, colliding squarely with the boy's lower jaw.

As the fight continued, Brendan got bloodier and bloodier as more hits got through, though he returned some of his own. There were kicks, and Tug's brother pulled a knife. Brendan balked a little at the pointy, shiny blade, but he gathered his composure and managed to wrestle it away and out of reach quickly, gaining only two cuts. The hits that Brendan made were not quite as strong as those being thrown by the larger boy, but he held out longer then a passer by would have expected him to. When he finally collapsed in a bloody, unconscious heap, only one person other then Tug's brother saw him.

_**A/N Ok, I know, extraordinarily short chapter, but the last one was long, so yeah. The next one's coming.**_


	7. Chapter 7

Brendan awoke in an unfamiliar room, on an unfamiliar bed. _What the hell happened? Where am I? _Brendan wondered, it didn't take him long to recall the fight, and Tug's brother, but this wasn't Tug's house, so where was he? _What is going on around here? Did someone else see the fight? _Suddenly, and icy chill shot through his body, and pulled the blanket that had been covering him back around his chest, bare except for the dried blood remaining inside the cuts from the fight. Assessing his options, he decided to wait until someone came inside before doing anything. He didn't see it wise to get up and wander around a strange house all bloody and wearing only his own pair of faded blue jeans. Sighing, Brendan lay back down on the couch, and remained still and silent for what seemed like an hour before anything happened.

"Brendan? Are you awake?" Brendan twitched a little from the shock of the voice behind him. He relaxed his muscles as he placed the voice.

"Amala? Yeah, I'm awake, did you bring me from the alley?" Brendan was surprised that someone he had been so cold with had provided for him so generously.

"Yes, I did. I live right by, and I was out walking my dog, and I heard strange noises coming from the alley, so I peeped my head around the corner, and I saw you fighting with, and losing to, this big guy I had seen around school. You collapsed, and he left. Once he was gone, I brought you here." Amala sat down in a desk chair that she had pulled to the bedside.

"Wow, thanks. Um, where's my shirt? I'm not meaning to be rude, but it's cold." Brendan shivered again.

"Brendan, it's almost 90 degrees outside, and it's over 80 in here, are you seriously cold? You should see a doctor. Anyway, your shirt was soaked through with blood, so it's currently soaking in hot water, and then I'll send it through the dryer and give it back. I can lend you one, but let me clean your cuts first, alright? I didn't want to do it while you were out, because it would have stung, and woken you up." Brendan nodded, and Amala stood and helped Brendan to his feet. Though he was taller then she, she still helped him, with his arm slung over her shoulder for support, to the bathroom. She took a black wash cloth from the linen cupboard, and soap from beneath the sink. She wetted the cloth, and rubbed a tiny bit of soap onto the tip.

Brendan took a sharp intake of breath as the cold, wet cloth touched his left jaw, and ran softly over the cut, stinging it. When Amala was finished with the cuts on his face, she lowered the cloth back to the sink, and added more soap. As she raised her hand to clean the cuts on his upper torso, she gasped. "Oh my god." Brendan knew what she was staring at, but said nothing as she finished sponging up the dried blood. "Brendan, what happened?"

"What do you mean?" asked Brendan. "You mean the fight."

"No," Amala put the cloth in the sink and dried her hands. "I mean these scars, where did they all come from?" she asked, looking at the many tiny and large scars that bent and curved around his back and chest.

"Nothing, it's not important." Brendan turned away from her gaze, not wanting to meet her eyes, as his were turning cold and dark at the memories.

---Flashback---

Brendan stood a boy of 14, waiting in his bedroom for the call to dinner. "Boy, get down her, foods on the table." He could tell from his father's tone that he was drunk, again. Thinking it best to just go, he left his room, and walked down the stairs. The family sat around the table, eating. Brendan knowing what would happen after the meal. His father was always really angry when he was drunk, and whether he had done anything or not, Brendan knew he would be beat after they had left the table. Once the meal was over, as his mother cleared the dishes, oblivious to what would happen, Brendan's father took him out to the shed in the back, and hit him. Vocally, the boy made no sound, but inside, he was screaming as his father added to the cuts, welts, and scars that had been accumulating on his body since he was six years old. When he was finished, his father told him to go upstairs, shower, and change. Never would Brendan tell his mother, for his father had threatened to kill him if he did. Quickly, and without a sound, Brendan carried out his father's bidding, hiding all but the evidence on his flesh that he had been hurt.

---End of Flashback---

"Brendan? Are you alright?" Brendan pulled him self from the memory, and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied.

"Please be honest with me, how did you get all of these?" There was no longer a point in trying to hide that something had happened, he had given it away in his reaction.

"My father," Brendan whispered.

"Your father hit you?" Amala gasped.

"Yeah," he didn't know what else to say, so he just stood there.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Brendan." Softly, Amala reached out and began softly running her right index finger over one of the scares. Brendan winced, and instinctively grabbed her hand away from his body, turning towards as he did so. She jumped, frightened that he was angry with her. "Oh, I'm sorry Brendan, I-."

"No, it's nothing." Brendan slowly released her hand, bent his head down just enough, and kissed her. She pulled away almost as soon as his lips had brushed hers.

"Brendan, I'm not Emily." Amala said, now a little upset.

"I know that," Brendan said, though he didn't trust himself to believe it.

"No, you don't Brendan, I see the way you look when you think to yourself, when you think about her, then you look at me the same way, and you think I'm her, but I'm not Brendan. Emily's gone." Inside, Brendan knew she was right, he was attracted to her because she reminded him of Emily. She was beautiful, and in a different way then Emily, but most of the things she had said, the interests she had, and the caring she had shown towards him was like Emily. Though he was in love with a memory, and thought he had closed his heart for good to anyone else, he may have been wrong.

"I know that she's gone Amala, I've seen the body, and even if she weren't dead, she'd still be apart from me, even if the- things had been different," Brendan almost let out a secret he meant to tell no one, but caught himself just in time. "She would still choose another life." Amala shrugged off his comment, but secretly wondered what he had been about to say.

**_A/N Ok, so that chapter was like 500 words longer then the previous, I need distribution help! Lol. This scene carries over to the next chapter by the way. Why am I even bothering with the A/Ns? Like one person has read this._**


	8. Chapter 8

Brendan let his eyes fall to the floor, his face turned downwards so that Amala could see only his shaggy brown hair and the curve of his chin. She placed her hand gently on his bare shoulder, so as not to cause him anymore pain then he was already in, remaining silent so as not to say anything that would increase the tension of the situation any more. He raised his head a bit at her touch, but did not change the gaze of his eyes. Both stood there silently, neither sure of what to say. Amala jumped as Brendan suddenly received another ice cold chill and shivered violently, shaking were he stood. The chill was followed by a searing pain, starting in his head and shooting all the way down to his right knee cap. "Brendan, let me take you to the emergency room, you need a doctor!" said Amala, trying to stabilize his shaking, which eventually subsided.

"No, I don't, just let me be, I'll be ok." Brendan pushed away, a bit harsher then he meant to, and she bumped into the wall. "Just give me my shirt, I'm going home."

"If you put that shirt you'll only get worse, and you're in no shape to walk home. If you won't see a doctor at least let me lend one of my father's shirts and drive you home." Brendan was blown away by the fact that after shoving her into a wall and yelling at her she still wanted to help him. He sighed.

"Ok, whatever." Brendan gave in, knowing it was probably for the best, except having to face his mother of course. They left the bathroom. She went to her parent's room to get a clean shirt for Brendan. They met up in the hallway; he slowly tugged the pale grey shirt over his head, and headed outside, leaning on Amala for support. Amala dug the keys to the maroon Honda, and let Brendan in. She then got in herself, and started the car.

"Where do you live?" Brendan gave over his address and the girl drove him. The car ride was short, and silent. When they reached his house, Amala parked the car and took the keys out of the ignition.

"What are you doing?" asked Brendan as he watched Amala open the driver's side door.

"I'm getting out of the car…"

"Why?"

"I don't know, I thought I'd make sure you got to the door alright seeing as your right leg is fairly banged up."

"Oh, alright." Brendan was about to tell her not to bother, then decided that she would probably come anyway. They walked up to the door, Brendan leaning on Amala slightly for support. Brendan pulled the key from his pocket and slowly turned it in the lock until it clicked. He opened the door, and stepped into the doorframe before turning back around. "Hey, would like to come in and have something to drink or something?" Brendan decided that he really didn't want to be alone right now.

"Sure," Amala nodded. Brendan closed the door as she stepped inside, and proceeded to the kitchen.

"Brendan, is that you?" his mom yelled.

"Yes mom, who else would it be?"

"I don't know. Why are you home so late? You have school tomorrow."

"Long story mom." Brendan was not in the mood to be drilled by his mom.

"Well, give me the summary, oh my god! What happened Brendan?" His mother entered the room as she spoke. "Were you fighting again? Who's this?"

"I wasn't fighting, I got beat up. This is Amala, she's a friend from school."

"Ok, well, that still doesn't explain what she's doing here." She had regretted not being in his life more, and not caring last year, when things had gotten out of hand and he kept coming home late, and bloodied up. This time she intended on keeping more of a watch on her son.

"She just drove me home, she took me to her hose and cleaned me up a bit, so I thought I'd invite her in for a minute."

"Oh, sorry. Amala, thank you for taking care of Brendan. Is there anything that I can get you?" Brendan's mom smiled.

"Oh, you're welcome. Um, no thanks."

"Brendan, not too late," said his mom, leaving the room as she spoke.

"Well, would you like something to drink?" Brendan asked Amala.

"Water's fine." Brendan poured a glass of water for Amala and handed it to her, then went to the refrigerator with the intention of getting some milk, but quickly remembered that he drank the rest last night, and reached for a soda instead.

"I just want to thank you again for helping me out today."

"Oh, no problem," said Amala, taking a sip of her water. They fell into an awkward silence, neither knowing what to say. As they finished their drinks, Amala began wonder what she was doing here, with Brendan, why had she had the urge to become his friend? _Sure, he is good looking, but his heart is with Emily, besides, I don't want a romance out of this friendship, do I? Maybe I thought I could help him by being his friend. _

"Are you alright?" Brendan's voice pulled Amala from her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, I was just thinking."

"About what? You looked pretty lost."

"Well, um, nothing really…" She didn't feel the want to explain it to him, but she felt compelled to, as it concerned him.

"Come on, it's not nothing," Brendan goaded, "if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine though."

"No, it's alright. I was, well, wondering about what are friendship is." _Ok, so I changed it a little, who cares? I want to know that as well, and the other might seem a bit, well, odd. _

"How do you mean?"

"Well, I was determined to be your friend, and you shoved me away, but I keep pursuing it. You accepted me finally, and then I pushed away a bit." _Ok, so I pushed away because he thought I was Emily, and I'm not, but still. _

"It's because we see things differently, we are both drawn to each other by something else. Me to you because you remind of Emily, and I don't why you to me, but there must be some reason." It pained Brendan to remind him of Emily, and to admit to being drawn to Amala because of the memory. It all made sense to him except for why she wanted him as a friend so bad, but had no interest in anything more. _Why now? That is the weird part, why now, just when trouble has resurfaced. She reminds me of Em, but can I trust her? _Until earlier, Brendan had not wanted to trust Amala, but after she helped he wanted to, he was unsure of whether he could.

"Well yeah, but I mean, I just got here, I'm totally unsure of everything around me, but I was sure about you, I was sure that I wanted to be your friend." Now this was beginning to sound a bit rehearsed to Brendan.

"Who fed you that line?" he asked, suddenly turning cold. "Was it Kara, or that ace that beat me up? Was it Laura, or some other yeg?"


	9. Chapter 9

"Oh my god, Brendan, what are you talking about? No one fed me anything!" Amala was a bit panicked by his reaction.

"That wasn't you. You would either be sure of everything or sure of nothing, someone told you to get close to me, NOW TELL ME WHO IT WAS!" Brendan roared, hoping he didn't wake his mom up.

"No one, I swear!" Amala was close to tears.

"You're good, you know that? You almost fooled me, but someone is getting you to help them. You don't want me as your enemy. Who is corrupting you? Or have you been in on this from the start?" Brendan was angry, but he wasn't completely sure she wanted in on this. Being a transfer, and a vulnerable one, someone cold easily have gotten to her, Kara. She had been talking with Kara, Brain thought he'd heard the entire conversation, but what if there had been more to it?

"Brendan, whatever you think I'm doing, I'm not trying to hurt you!" Amala wanted to leave, but she couldn't.

"Maybe not on purpose, but who ever you are leaking information too _is_ trying to hurt me. I can help you, tell me who's gotten to you."

"Brendan, I can't, I just can't." Amala was crying now, and Brendan could see he had cracked her. Someone was manipulating her, forcing her to do something she didn't want to do.

"I can protect you! I can tell someone's gotten to you! What are they doing to you to make you do this?" Brendan's anger had turned into worry and compassion.

"How can you protect me when you can't protect yourself?" she asked.

"I have no will to protect myself, I can protect you, you'll be better off telling me then not, they'll hurt you anyway when they're done unless they find you useful."

"There's nothing you can do, it's already in motion Brendan, you can't stop what's fated to happen."

"I can if they don't have you anymore!"

"Don't you see Brendan? I'm out already, I've done part, I've given them what they needed, which wasn't much, I'm done. I couldn't go through with the rest."

"What do you mean! Tell me Amala!" Brendan grabbed her shoulders, but didn't shake her.

"I betrayed them, I was supposed to- supposed to…" Amala trailed off.

"Supposed to what, come on, you can tell me!" Trying to stress the situation further, Brendan stared into her eyes, not breaking his gaze.

"I was supposed to leave you in that ally, I was supposed to make sure you got there if you didn't make it on your own, and once J.B. was through, I was to leave you there, but I-, I couldn't do it." She turned from his sharp gaze.

"Leave me there to die, or for other reasons? He didn't kill me, he had the chance, what did they want?"

"They didn't tell me! They just told me to stay away from you after J.B. was through, make sure you didn't get help, or wake and leave."

"Until what? Did they give you a time?"

"Not directly, but I overheard them talking about doing something at midnight." Brendan checked the clock on the wall, it read 10: 56.

"Is that all you heard?" he asked.

"Yes, it is, please, I didn't mean to do anything!" Brendan could tell she wasn't lying.

"Please tell me who, or I'll go find out myself. They are going back to the alley at midnight. I'll go and find out who's involved."

"No, you can't!"

"Then tell me who put you up to this, or I'll just have to assume you are lying to me."

"It was Kara, at first. She was the one who approached, me then I met the other, J.B. and Brad are the only names I remember."

"Brad Bramish?" asked Brendan, wondering why he bothered asking. He released his harsh grip on Amala's shoulders, and let his arms fall around her back, ever so slightly encircling her in a hug.

"I don't know, he was Kara's boyfriend I think though," Amala felt warm and safe in Brendan's arms, no matter how loose they were around her, and suddenly believed that he could protect her.

"Those are dangerous people, they have more power then they should, especially combined."

"I know, they said that they kill me if I didn't help them." Amala breathed deeply, trying to calm down, but failing.

"Amala, you can't go home now. As soon as they realize you've betrayed them they'll do exactly what they said they would." Amala cried and nodded. She knew that was true, she just didn't want to admit it. "You still have time. Go home now, get your things, and find a place to stay. Here isn't a good idea either."

"Where would I go though? I have no friends but you, and no family in the near area." Amala was slightly shocked by his proposal. "Besides, it doesn't really matter, does it? They'll just find me at school tomorrow and finish the job, won't they?"

"I don't know, if you stick with me at school, I can protect you. Check into a cheap hotel, they won't find you if you switch every couple of days." Brendan needed Amala to hurry.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" she looked really worried. "I hope…" she trailed off, not wanting to think about what could happen at any time to either of them.

"GO! You'll be alright if you're fast and careful." Brendan spoke but he wasn't sure himself. He watched as she left. He was shocked by what had happened, she had been so nice to him, but had been false the whole time, until she virtually saved his life and endangered her. _I do not understand this girl! What is her deal? _Brendan wondered if there was more to her then she let on, did she have some kind of fiery background to her that she wasn't telling him, or was she just unsure of what to do. Inside, he hoped that it wasn't too late to protect her, even though he still held a resentment for her for plotting with Kara, even though it wasn't entirely her fault. Brendan squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again, hoping that would make him think clearer. He then decided to call Sam and Brain and check up on the daily reports.


	10. Chapter 10

"Brain, this is really important, how did your tailing go?" Brendan asked his friend picked up and began to say hello, but Brendan had cut him off.

"Perfectly, until just after school, he just seemed to disappear, I promise it won't happen again, why? Did something happen?" asked Brain, sensing a tone of urgency in Brendan's voice.

"You could say that."

"What happened?"

"Our little friend caught up with me after school and gave me a roughing. Turns out he's in cahoots with Kara, and Brad Bramish, probably Laura's behind this, I don't think they could pull it off without him. Also, he's Tug's brother."

"Tug from last year?" asked Brain.

"The very same. Oh, and one more thing. Amala, she was being forced by Kara into helping them, but she fell through, and now she's hiding out, watch out for at school tomorrow, alright?"

"Wait, what? You have to be kidding me!" Brain sounded shocked, which was a first for him. He usually knew everything, and nothing surprised him.

"No jokes, said Brendan seriously. "Just keep a good watch out for her, alright?"

"Are you sure she's really being forced? She could just be feeding you a line like Lau-."

"She's not Laura, and I didn't trust Laura, ever." Brendan angrily cut Brain off before he could finish.

"Brendan, you had sex with her."

"Like it meant something? She is a heartless, self centered, bitch. We fooled once, it was a mistake, not like with Emily."

"Right, anyway, have you spoken to Samantha yet?"

"Nah, but I figure if you lost your ace, Kara probably disappeared as well. Sam isn't as good ops as you I don't think."

"Alright, if there's a hook in the plan, call me."

"Will." Brendan hung up, and pulled out the paper with Sam's number on it. After dialing, he heard the dial tone, and waited with baited breath for her answer.

"Frye?" came the response.

"Yeah, how did it go today?"

"Alright, Kara made a call though, didn't get the number."

"But you were on her all day?"

"Yeah, up until about an hour ago, is that good?"

"Its fine, it's fine. Brain lost his guy for a bit, we figured you had as well." Brendan was relieved to hear that she had been on Kara's tail all day long.

"Oh, there's something you may already know, but if you don't, you'll definitely want to hear it."

"What is it?"

"Kara, she's with Brad." Brendan's breath stopped for a moment. _Kara with Brad? That wouldn't happen, there's something greater here. _

"She is? How do you know?"

"They met up in an alley after school, it was actually disgusting." Though he couldn't see, Brendan could tell from her tone that Sam was making a face.

"I would assume so. Tell her I want to meet with her."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I want you to." Brendan was wondering why she was hesitant to do this.

"I'm ops, not secretary." Sam's voice sounded different, somehow nervous.

"You don't talk to people well? That's fine, I'll have Brain do it."

"Alright, good." Brendan could hear her sounding relieved.

"Do you have a problem with Kara?" he asked slowly.

"Not any more then you do."

"Ok…" Brendan knew that he had problems with Kara, so no more then him didn't really answer his question, but he figured it was better not to press at this level in their work. "Same thing tomorrow then, you ok with that?"

"Fine."

"Bye." Brendan hung up, and sighed, then called Brain. "Kara's with Brad, I need you to tell her that I need to meet with her, this isn't entirely about me."

"What? Kara and Brad? That's not probable. You think this is about money or jake?

"Probably both, Kara is a junkie, Brads a jake buyer, it makes sense." _Not again, I am sick of this damn schools fucking drug rings! _"If it is, it'll give me a fall for any events that may occur that are against the law."

"Yeah, it will. What is with San Clemente High and drug issues?"

"Well, you and I got rid of the Pin last year, he was the distributor, I can't believe we thought it could end there, the school still needs the junk." Brendan should have known that the Pin's death wouldn't bring the end, it would complicate getting the drugs, and make it necessary for smaller time dealers, like Brad, to step up to the plate. "We may have another pin our hands, Bramish may be smarter then he looks and acts. Laura could be playing them, and us, everyone knows she's good at that. I think she's pulling again what she did last year."

"You think for her it's all about the money and the jake, but for Kara and Brad, what's in it for them?"

"The same, and revenge I guess."

"On you?"

"Who else?" Brendan was fed up with this. "Make sure Trueman stay oblivious if possible, alright?" Gary Trueman, the assistant vice principal at the high school, who loved to have Brendan help the office catch petty criminals and drug deals.

"I'll try, but you got roughed, that'll reach his ears by 3rd, and he'll be practically running down the hall to pull you in by 4th."

"I know, I guess I'm AWOL tomorrow then."

"Ok, check in if you need anything else. I'll tell Kara today after class on the field. You can get there without being spotted."

"Ok, I'm there." Brendan hung up, and went downstairs, slowly and carefully, knowing sleep was a long way off. He went into the kitchen, pulled a small glass from one of the cupboards, and filled it with an amber liquid from a glass bottle that stood all the time in his mother's alcohol cabinet. In one gulp, he drained. Deciding it was against better judgment to have another, he slowly headed back upstairs.

** Hook in the plan, meaning a glitch, a problem, a curveball.**

**jake is another term used for drugs.**


	11. Chapter 11

Brendan's mom never woke him, she always left without a word, knowing he'd go to school if he was well enough. He didn't. He stayed at home, reading until he heard the shrill ring of his phone around 2. "Brendan, Kara says if you want to see her, she'll be in her dressing room at 4. She doesn't want to meet with you in the open. You gunna go?"

"Yeah, I'll go I guess. It could be a bad idea, but I'll go."

"Ok, I gotta go, but I'll talk to later."

"Wait, one more thing, did you see Amala today?"

"Yeah, I kept an eye out, she's ok, I think, for now at least."

"Alright, want to walk her home, or wherever she's staying for me? I just want to make sure she gets there ok."

"And loose the ace tail?"

"I have a feeling that if you're with Amala, he'll be near by, just make sure she gets in alright, once she's in she should be safe enough."

"Alright, I'll take care of it. Have fun meeting with Kara."

"Fun, Kara, right. I'll see what I can do." Brendan was monotone, he didn't feel in the mood to make a joke.

"Ok, I really have to go now, the bells ringing." Brendan could hear the faint ring in the background, and he allowed Brain to hang up. At 3 he pulled his jacket on over his plain grey shirt, and headed slowly towards school, still not in perfect condition. He headed towards the drama department, and walked unseen into Kara's dressing room.

"Hello Brendan," she drawled as he entered. "To what do I owe this pleasure? Are you finally looking to get back in with me?"

"No Kara, I'm not. I came to ask you about your involvement with Brad Bramish, and Amala Bates." Brendan sat down without being invited, and Kara looked disgusted with him.

"What do you want to know?"

"What is up with you and Brad, and why you are using Amala."

"So the little bitch spilled all?" Kara seemed annoyed as she looked down at her perfectly manicured nails.

"No, most of I figured out, with some help from a friend, she only spilled when I threatened her. I just want to know why you were bothering yourself with her."

"She's new, vulnerable, adorable, and has similar mannerisms to Em, I figured if anyone could pull you down off of your high horse it was her. What does it matter to you anyway?"

"Let's see, why could it possibly matter? Well, possibly because it entirely concerns me! You took the first vulnerable kid that you could mold, and you used her to get to me, then you had some yeg beat me up, telling her to keep me there." Brendan's tone was icy cold, and he knew it.

"Well, looks like she fucked up didn't she. She didn't keep you there, you got away." Kara was rather nonchalant about the whole thing.

"Hey Kara, do you have any jake on you?" Brendan suddenly had an idea.

"Oh Brendan, I always do," Kara replied in a sugary tone. "Why? Would you like some finally?"

"Yes, I think so." Brendan knew that Kara could probably see right through him, but he hoped that she would at least hand over the junk.

"What are you playing at? It's definitely something, you don't want to smoke." Kara pulled a little bag from her drawer.

"It doesn't matter, just let me see the junk for a minute." Brendan just needed a look, needed a brand name.

"Why?"

"Just wondering what you switched to after you got Dode killed."

"I switched to the Pins brand."

"The Pin's dead Kara, where are you getting your junk?" Brendan was being coy with her, hoping to confuse her enough to get something out of her.

"How little you know. You can't kill the Pin, just one of them, someone always takes over." She gave a devilish laugh.

"Oh, so Brad's the new Pin is he?" asked Brendan,

"Dear god no!" Kara threw back her head and laughed.

"Then why are you wasting your time with him?"

"Who says I am?"

"You are Kara, people have been seeing you sneaking around with him, so spill, what's the deal there? Is he in with the Pin?"

"What makes you think I would tell you?"

"I didn't think you would. See you."

"Hopefully not anytime soon." Brendan stood and left, not even looking back. She has given him everything he needed, whether she knew it or not. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small packet of white powder. Looking carefully at the label, he decided the only way to figure out who's it was would be to compare it to other people's junk. He pocketed it, deciding that wasn't the most important thing. Brendan decided that calling Brain and seeing what was up with Amala was the right thing to do. Walking up to a pay phone and sticking his money, Brendan waited for Brain to pick up.

"Hey, has Amala gotten to the hotel alright?" asked Brendan.

"Brendan…I'm really sorry, I um lost her around 3:30." Brain sounded as though he though Brendan was going to hurt him.

"YOU WHAT!" asked Brendan loudly.

"I lost her, I have no idea how! She went in to the girl's bathroom, and I waited outside for about a half an hour and she never came out. I'm sorry." This news was upsetting to Brendan. _Maybe she saw Brain and thought Kara or someone was having her watched. _Brendan tried to reason with himself through his uncertainty.

"Well, we're just going to have to deal with this aren't we?" Brendan spoke through gritted teeth.

"Yes, I can try to watch for her tomorrow, and you should probably come to school and talk to her as well." Brendan agreed with what Brain was saying.

"Yeah, I think I will. I'm actually going to try to locate her now, so I'll talk to you later." Brendan hung up with out waiting for a response. "SHIT!" he said out loud to no one in particular, but several people looked at him. He turned away, not caring. It only took him about five minutes to get home, he was a fast runner. He went up to his room, and was about to reach for his phone when something caught his eye, a piece of paper on his bed that he was sure hadn't been there when he left for his meeting with Kara. He reached for it, and opened the fold slowly, and nervously.

**Dear Brendan,**

**You really have gotten yourself back into the swing of things haven't you? Causing trouble with my friends again, you think you would have learned the first time, when Em died. Well, you will this time. I need you to come to the place where you found Em's body at midnight tonight, and you will come. **

**Love, L.D.**

**P.S. Amala misses you very much.**


	12. Chapter 12

_This is not good, this is not good, this is not good. _Brendan's thoughts were twisted around in his mind, his head was spinning, and it was beginning to make him dizzy. _Calm down Brendan, you just need a plan, don't get so worked up, no one needs you, and you definitely don't need anyone. Just call Brain and work something out. _Brendan tried to reason with himself inside of his head, and finally some logic came through. He called Brain right away. "Brain, it's me, we have a problem, a big problem."

"What is it?" asked Brain.

"Laura is in on this, and I think she may have Amala." Brendan was speaking faster then he ever knew he could.

"Wait, slow down, what? Laura's in on this?"

"Fuck that, Laura isn't just in on this, she's it, the head honcho, and I think that she and her gang have Amala." Brendan slowed down so as to be understood better.

"How do you know?" asked Brain, sounding slightly shocked.

"I got a letter from the bitch telling me to meet her at midnight, and that Amala misses me. It could be a trick, or there could be truth behind the writing. I'm not really sure what to do."

"Brendan, first you have to calm down. Are you going to go at midnight or not?"

"I dunno, I guess so, I mean, if they really do have Amala, I need to help her!"

"You don't have to save everyone you know."

"It's already too late for that, you know what happened to Em, I can't let that happen to Amala. It's a sign, they want me to meet at the place where Em died."

"Well, do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I don't know, but no, because if they catch us both, we have no shot at this, if they hurt me, or worse, you can still get them busted." Brendan's head was clearing now, and he was trying to come up with a way to get out alive. "I'm going to go, see what they want, and hope that everything works out I guess."

"Ok, I'll keep the phone on, keep me posted, and Brendan you still have time, calm down, maybe rest a little, you're still not in the best shape." Brendan sighed, said no more, and hung up. He knew Brain was right, he just didn't want to calm down, he didn't want to rest, he wanted to go break the neck of anyone involved and call it a day, but for everyone's sake, he had to wait. Taking Brain's advice to heart, he flopped down on his bed, and stared impassively at the ceiling above him. He wasn't sure quite when he made the journey from blank to asleep, but he awoke with a start at 11:07.

At 11:15, Brendan decided that it was time to head out. He grabbed his jacket, and pulled it tightly around, stuffing his hands in the front pockets as he usually did. He pulled on his shoes, and began the trek to the meeting. It was almost exactly midnight when he hit the location, and looked down below him into the tunnel opening before jumping down. As he approached the entrance, he saw three figures loom nearer. The closer he got, the more distinct the silhouettes became, and he could make out the boy who had beat him up earlier (Tug's brother), Kara, and none other then Laura Dannon. "Hello Brendan, it's been far too long since I last saw you." Brendan's eyes turned to ice upon hearing her voice.

"What do you want Laura?" asked Brendan, trying not to sound to threatening, as he was outnumbered and at a physical disadvantage due his current injuries.

"I want my revenge. It's that simple."

"How are you planning on getting that?"

"We have Amala, I know you want her back, you don't want her to suffer the same fate as Em, and have it be your fault again, do you?"

"How do I know you aren't bluffing?" Rage stormed up inside of Brendan, though he attempted to tame it. _Emily's death was NOT my fault! _He told himself over and over again, trying to calm his nerves.

"Oh, you think we wouldn't bring proof?" asked Kara, laughing sardonically at his question. "We have her with us, in the tunnel, JB?" Silently, the boy who had beat Brendan went in to the tunnel, and emerged, dragging Amala, bound at the wrists and gagged, unconscious, out with him.

"Alright, I guess that should do it for you. Take her back." Laura said, noting Brendan's sharp intake of breath at the appearance of the girl. "There you have it, are you ready to let me finish now?" Brendan nodded.

"Yes."

"Alright, we need $500,000 in cash, in three days, or she suffers the same fate as Emily." Laura's tone was dead serious, and Brendan balked slightly, though he hoped Laura hadn't seen.

"Why don't you just kill me a seek revenge that way, just let her go, and kill me!" Brendan was dead serious too, he figured he had nothing left, Emily was all he loved, and she was gone, why should Amala die for his lack of financial superiority?

"You see, we can't do that because we need you to suffer more then that. JB lost his brother to you, Kara lost her dignity, and I lost my life as I knew it, now you need to lose your love." Laura knew she was cutting in to him deeply, but she didn't care.

"Fine, I'll get the money, alright?" Brendan wasn't sure where, or how, but he would think of something.

"That's excellent. We'll be in touch. I'll just walk you home and work out the details. JB, Kara, take Amala home please." Laura sneered, and offered her arm to Brendan, who glared at her before taking it. "We have to keep up appearances if we're going to be seen in public."

"What do you really want Laura?" Brendan asked once they were safely out of earshot. "I know this isn't about the money, you don't need them money, and you could think of a better ways to get revenge."

"You're right, it isn't about the money. It's about you. Listen, I came here tonight to make a deal, but it wasn't the one you heard earlier. I know you could never raise that kind of money that fast."

"Then the hell do you want me to do?" asked Brendan.

"Love me."

"What do you mean?"

"Love me Brendan, it's that simple. Agree to love me, and I'll pay the money for her release, just like you had, only it won't be your money."


	13. Chapter 13

"What I'm not clear on, Laura, is how you think I could love you after what you've done." Brendan spoke curtly, and concisely, articulating each word so as not to shed any emotion.

"Well, what I've noticed about you is that you can do pretty much anything when you set your mind to it." Laura ran her finger down his arm, then placed her hand on his face gently. "And that includes loving me. I've always seen you, I was jealous of Em, I must admit." Brendan shivered coldly at her touch, and pulled away.

"Listen, I- If you promise to let her go, I'll try." Brendan was dejected, but it was becoming more and more clear that this was the only way to get Amala out of this.

"There's a good boy. Why don't we go back to my place?" Laura was now facing him, having snaked her arm out of his, and looking him in the eyes.

"Whatever." Brendan sighed and followed as Laura changed directions, heading towards her car. He sat in the passenger seat while she headed towards the drivers. The drive to the house was silent, as Brendan had nothing to say to her, he knew he could never lover her, but he could pretend if he had to, and it looked like he would have to.

"Come on upstairs with me Brendan." Laura said once they entered the house.

"Why are you doing this Laura?"

"JB wanted revenge for his brother's death; I wanted what I could never have. You know me, I can have any guy, except you, meaning you're the one I want." Laura was on the stairs and turned to look at him, beckoning him with her eyes. "Well, are you coming?" Brendan silently followed her, knowing he had no other choice; he was behind enemy lines now. As they ascended towards her room, he became more and more unsure of his ability to hold this up. He hated her, couldn't stand to be near her, loathing her for what she'd done. In her, he knew that she could never love him either, because of what he had done to her, but apparently, that was no obstacle to her intentions.

Once in her room, he sat on the bed, and she turned her back to him. Brendan suddenly felt a strong feeling of anger and hatred towards Laura. As she went about removing her coat, slowly and strategically, making sure Brendan was watching every step of the way.

----Flashback----

"So yeah, this is my room." The blond girl turned to him and smiled, her eyes sparkling with the happiness of their evening together.

"It's very nice, I like it." The boy with dark, curly hair pushed just off of his face nodded in approval, his hand resting comfortably on the back of the girl.

"I had a really good time tonight." The girl turned in to him, and they were face to face, his arms circling her waist, her arms around his neck. He bent down and softly kissed her.

"I did too, thank you very much for making it so wonderful. I know you like to be with others, but I like it when it's just us." He smiled a nice smile, and she glowed with his love. She raised her left hand, and ran it slowly through his hair, pulling her head down softly into another passionate kiss.

----End of Flashback----

Laura turned back to Brendan, her long coat now gone, revealing a lacy white camisole and a pair of jeans. She walked over to him and grabbing his hand, pulled him up to face her. He shivered as she reached out and placed her arms gently around his neck, leaning in to kiss him. Her lips brushed his lightly, but she pulled away. "Come on Brendan, put something in to this, I know you can." Laura smiled, remembering last year, when his kiss had meant something. He leaned in and kissed her, it was hard, but it was cold, and passionless. Laura dove into it, giving him back more passion then he gave. "That's better Brendan, but I know you can do better."

"I can't, not now, not with you." Brendan pushed her away so that he could speak.

"You have before!"

"I know, but then was completely different! That was before everything that happened." Trying to reason was useless, but he saw no reason not to give it a shot.

"Actually, as I recall, it was right in the middle of everything." Laura sat down on her bed. "Brendan, you're not going not fuck up this deal now are you?"

"No, no I'm good, I'm just saying, don't expect anything to perfect right away."

----Flashback----

"So, what do you want to do?" asked the blond girl, pulling away from the boy's kiss, her arms still around his neck. A smile crept up his face.

"I have no problems with what we're doing now." He smiled, bent down and kissed her again. Her sign of approval was kissing him again, this time when they pulled away, both had a look in their eyes that told the other this was their night. "You know that I love you Em, right?"

"I do, and you know I love you." She pulled the boy down to her, and kissed him, silencing him. His arms left her waist, and he reached up, unbuttoning the middle button of her jacket, which was the only one holding the two parts together. She shrugged it off, and he took it in a gentlemanly fashion, and threw it across the chair. He then took her hand and led her to the bed, where they both sat down. He wrapped his right arm around the curve of her waist, and used his left to pull her face towards his. Her hands were lain softly on his shoulders, but they slowly worked their way down to his collarbone, where she undid the first button on his shirt. For a moment she looked intently into his eyes, and they told her she wasn't wrong.

Once the girl had finished, the boy's hands left her for only a second, and traveled just above her hips, where her shirt ended. She raised her arms, and he gently peeled the light blue t-shirt off of her torso.

----End of Flashback----

Laura and Brendan brought their bodies back together, hers pressed tightly against his, her arms firmly circled around his neck, almost roughly. Her hands left the back of his neck and found their way down to the bottom of his white T-shirt. He let her take it from his body, but he wasn't working with her as he had with Emily. She realized that he wasn't going to make the first move on her, so she removed her shirt herself, pulling it high above her head and over her arms to reveal nothing Brendan hadn't seen before. She ran her hands up his chest and pushed him roughly down on to the bed, where she soon joined him, placing her hands on his face and pulling his lips back up to hers. He kissed her back, and attempted to put feeling in to it, but it came hard as he wasn't feeling anything but pure hatred for Laura.

----Flashback----

The girl awoke feeling warm and safe in side of the boy's arms. She turned in his arms to face him, and kissed him gently, causing his eyes to slowly open. "Good morning." He smiled at her and kissed her again. He felt a small pang of joy as her right hand lay on his stomach while they kissed. Both were happy about the decision they had made together."

----End of Flashback----

Brendan awoke in the middle of the night, shivering as Laura's hand rest on his chest. He stood to grab his clothes and leave, harshly forcing her hand off of him. She didn't wake. Grabbing his clothes and tugging them on, Brendan quietly left her room. Still limping slightly on his leg, he walked home, seriously disgusted by his actions last night. It was all for the best though, he figured. If this helped Amala, it wasn't as terrible as it seemed. _I just hope what I'm doing is enough. I can't take much more of this. _Brendan reached his house, climbed tiredly into his own bed, and fell into an uncomfortable, and fitful sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Brendan awoke early on Saturday morning to the sound of his phone ringing. He pulled a pillow over his head, and attempted to go back to sleep. This plan was thwarted when, as soon as it had stopped ringing, the phone began to ring again, and then again. Groaning, Brendan reached for the phone, and answered. He immediately woke up when he heard Amala's voice on the line. She was whispering, and Brendan wasn't sure what was up. "Brendan, I don't have long," her voice was hurried, and she sounded scared.

"Amala, wait, how did you get a phone? Where are you?" Brendan wanted to ask a million questions, but he had to keep it short and important. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, JB went to get food and accidentally left his phone in the room. I don't know where I am, I was blindfolded when they brought me here. I just wanted to say that whatever you're doing, don't worry about it, alright? I don't want you involved in this; I as good as set you up. Just get out now!" She spoke so fast that Brendan almost couldn't understand her.

"Ok, describe what it looks like around you. Come on, just try." Brendan completely brushed off her warning to stay out if it.

"Um, well, it's really run down, and looks out of commission. The room that I'm in has five or so tables, and it think it was an eating place, maybe like a café or something, but it's not the only room in the building, so I don't know."

"Is it the biggest room?" Brendan asked.

"I don't know, I'll look out the window, I just have to be careful that JB doesn't see. Ok, um, oh my god. It's an old bowling alley!" Amala was surprised, and spoke louder then she meant to. "Oh my god, oh my god, no! stop!" Brendan heard Amala screaming and then the line went dead.

"Amala, AMALA! SHIT!" Brendan guessed that JB had come back and found Amala on his phone. He jumped out of bed immediately and pulled on his clothes. The first thing that came to mind was to call Brain, he would know about out of commission bowling alleys, hopefully. "Brain, do you know of any old bowling alleys in the area, ones that aren't used any more, and really run down?" Brendan practically yelled into the phone.

"Um, yeah, Brendan, are you ok."

"I will be if you can just give me the fucking name!"

"Well, Sunset Ridge Bowling closed in 1987, it was supposed to become a mall, but they never got the funding, so they never tore it down, could be that. Why?" but Brendan had hung up before he could ask. Brendan logged onto the internet and searched the bowling alley, finding an address in an article that dated to June 10th 1987. Then he snuck into his mother's rooms and stole her car keys silently, knowing that the alley was too far to get to on foot. Brendan made sure to walk slowly so as not to further injure his leg, and he got into the car and started driving. He slowed the car down and parked three city blocks from the address he had looked up, which was safe in the back of his mind. After walking the rest of the way, he found the old, run down building, and sighing, quietly opened the door. The sight that met his eyes, which should have shocked him, didn't surprise him in the least.

"Well, well, it looks like the bitch did get through to someone after all. Good work on her part, too bad she isn't still with us, she's good, whether she means to be or not." Brendan's gag reflex was triggered by the stabbing words, and the childish tone of Kara.

"You got me, here now make me pay." Brendan stood his ground firmly, despite being surrounded by three or four large boys.

"Oh, in due time my boy, in due time. We can't do that until we have everyone here that needs to be. JB, call Laura, then when she gets here, we'll bring Amala out, and settle al of this." Kara waved JB in the direction of another room, and he went to do her bidding.

"Well, it looks like you run this operation huh? You_ really_ don't need Dode anymore; you're kind of it, aren't you. The Pin. How cliché of you to choose a bowling alley for your ring. The old Pin just had a basement." Brendan spoke in a coy, mocking tone s he realized what had been suspected all along, that he was in the middle of the Pin's lair, and that Kara was the Pin.

"Someone's not s dumb as they've been pretending to be. You've always been a smart boy, too bad you weren't just a little smarter. You could have been a part of all of this, and all of the cushiony benefits it leads to." Kara motioned to the whole operation, and smiled a sly smile.

"With you? Nothing would have made me happier." Brendan retorted sarcastically.

"You should watch who you are talking to right now, you are sort of at the disadvantage my friend."

"Yeah? And who's to say I don't have backup?" Brendan was always good for a charade, and he had backup in the past, so he might as well now.

"You wouldn't risk it." Kara tried to sound self assured, but the look of confidence on her face dwindled.

"I wouldn't? What have I got to lose?"

"Well, your life."

"I'm already dead." Brendan sighed inaudibly, knowing that this was the truth, and Kara could read it on his face.

"You could lose Amala. You love her, she reminds you of Emily."

"How can you love if you're dead?"

"You came, that means you love her." Kara was really beginning to lose her confidence that their bargaining chip was enough, though she didn't know it, it was.

"No, it doesn't. It means that I don't think another person should die because you hate me."

"Well, too bad then, because it looks like you're going to lose someone else for your mistakes. Live with it." JB re-entered saying Laura was on her way, and Kara threw a half glaring, half smiling look at Brendan, and signaled that they continue their conversation at another time. "Thanks JB. Brendan, make yourself comfortable, she's coming from home, it'll be ten minutes or so."

So for ten minutes, Brendan, Kara, JB, and about seven others sat there, awaiting the arrival of the judge who would deliver the verdict. Brendan remained uncharacteristically calm, knowing that if he had to, he would go to lengths that hadn't been attempted thus far by him, to get Amala out of this situation. Laura finally entered, and Kara rose to meet her, smiling. The two walked back towards the group, Laura eyeing Brendan intently. "Oh Brendan, what am I going to do with you?" Laura laughed, and Brendan knew that she knew exactly what she was going to do.


	15. Chapter 15

"It looks like you have that all figured out already, so take your actions." Brendan glared menacingly at her.

"In a minute, JB?" She looked over to Tugs brother, who silently left the room, only to emerge minutes later with Amala. "I wanted her to be here for all of this, incase you decide to do anything…rash we'll just say." Brendan's eyes narrowed as he watched JB sit her down. "So Brendan, I gave you the easy way out, all you had to do was be with me, and this could all be solved, but no. You came, you had sex, you left, and you came here. Now why would you fuck things up like that?"

"Maybe it's just because I wanted to, or maybe it's because I have such a deep, impenetrable hatred for you that I couldn't stand to even pretend to like you, let alone love you."

"Because you love another? Yes Brendan, you are fully capable of loving, but are you still in love with a memory, or are you in love with someone new?" Laura looked over to Amala, a coy, half smile on her lips.

"Who I love doesn't matter to you, let's just get this over with shall we? What is going down here."

"I have no idea. All I know is that you want to get her" Laura pointed at Amala "out of here safely, which honestly doesn't look like too much of a possibility to me."

"Look, if you're going to hurt her either way, then just fucking get it over with!" Brendan was seriously pissed off now.

"Alright, alright, I can see that you are going crazy on us." Brendan watched her motion to JB, who pulled out a gun and pointed it at Brendan. Laura looked at him and motioned over, and he moved the gun so it pointed at Amala.

"God damnit" Brendan swore under his breath, hoping that they wouldn't actually shoot her. "What reason do you have to shoot her?"

"You are the only reason, but I see that as good enough, and so does everyone else here, except for you and her of course." Brendan looked daggers at Laura.

"That's not entirely true." Everyone was startled to hear another voice coming from towards the door. Brendan didn't have to turn, he recognized Brains voice. He didn't have time to wonder what the hell he was doing here, but he did know that he needed to act quickly. He rushed over to Amala while everyone was looking at Brain. Seconds after he got there, Laura yelled for JB to turn the gun back on Amala. Brendan moved himself in front of Amala, guarding her from JB's gun. "You shoot them and I shoot too." Brendan heard Brain's voice again, this time surprised, not expecting Brain to have a gun. This time, he turned, but didn't leave his position of guard. What he saw was not what he had expected to see. Brain was there, pointing his gun directly at Laura, but he wasn't alone. Standing right next to him was Sam, and she was armed as well. Brendan couldn't help but to smile for a second, in light of the circumstances, though, the smile quickly left.

"Ok, so we seem to have a little bit of a situation here don't we?" Laura smiled, but she looked a little scared.

"Yes, I'd say we do." Said Brain, showing a side that Brendan had never seen.

"Well, any proposals?"

"I have one." Brendan put in. Laura turned to him.

"What?" she asked.

"Well, I propose that since all of this is about me, that you let Amala leave with the other two, and I'll stay, and you can do whatever you need to with me." Laura thought for a moment, mulling over his proposal in her mind.

"Intriguing, but no."

"I'm not sure you're the one in the place to make that choice Laura!" Kara was scared, and trying to get Laura to help her out of this situation.

"I may not be, but it may be worth it."

"Ok, I have an idea." This voice came from Sam.

"Which is…?" asked Laura.

"Let Amala go with him" she pointed at Brain, "and I'll stay here with Brendan, and hand over my weapon once the two of them are out." Brendan was caught off guard by this proposal, and he looked at Sam. She looked incredibly scared, but determined.

"Well, that's interesting. Ok, we accept." Brain moved away from Sam, towards Amala and Brendan.

"Sam, are you sure you want to do this?" Brain asked as he reached Brendan and Amala.

"Yes, I am, just go." Brain took Amala's hand in his.

"Alright. Thank you very, very much." Amala and Brain headed towards the door, and made a safe exit.

"Now as I promised, here." Sam dropped her weapon and slid it over.

"Ok, good. Now go stand by Brendan." Sam did as she was told, and walked over to him.

"Are you ok?" Brendan asked Sam once she got to him.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. I'm just a little scared." She looked pale, and really frightened.

"That's understandable. Thank you for getting Amala and Brain out, that was quite a sacrifice." Brendan took her hand and held it tightly, having the feeling that she would be the last person that he liked that he would ever see. "You're going to be alright, they have no reason to hurt you, ok?"

"Yeah, ok." She definitely didn't appear to believe him.

"Alright Brendan, what's your plan? Are you going to try to get out of this?"

"Nope, not really. I figure there isn't too much of a point to that." Brendan was amazingly calm in this situation, and it was giving Sam a little more strength.

"Alright then what's up?"

"I dunno. I have no information you need, you have nothing that I need, and I see no reason to let this day drag on any longer. It's your call now." Brendan stood there with Sam, waiting for Laura's decisions to be made.

Brain and Amala ran over to the car that Brain borrowed from his mother and got in. "Amala, are you alright?" Brain asked concerned once he started the car and got on the road.

"Yes, I'm fine. Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to a hotel, and checking you in, then I'm going back for Sam."

"You love her." Amala stated clearly.

"Yeah, I think I do."

"She loves you too."

"How do you know?" asked Brain, making a right turn.

"I watched her when she made the deal with Laura, I could see it on her face, in her eyes. It wasn't about getting me out of there, for her it was getting you out of there. What was it for you?"

"For me it was to try to help Brendan, which obviously I didn't, now it's about getting Sam out. I wish she hadn't come." Brain looked more and more uncomfortable as time passed, and he kept going faster until they reached a motel that was pretty far from the alley. "Ok, here is an ID, it belongs to my older sister, register under her name, here's some money. When you get into a room, call the bulls, and tip them off anonymously about drug dealings down at the alley, ok?" Amala nodded and got out of the car.

"Thanks Brain, really, thanks, and good luck. Please try to get Brendan out of there if you can?" she kissed him on the cheek.

"Ok, I'll try. Now go!" Amala went into the hotel, and Brain sped out of the parking lot back from where he came.

"Why did you come?" Laura turned to Sam. "What are your ties to Brendan?"

"I'm friends with his friend," Sam answered darkly.

"And now that's enough to risk your life in this sort of situation?" asked Laura.

"Yeah, it is." Laura didn't really believe Sam, but she didn't care much.

"Alright. Brendan, JB here is going to get some of his revenge first, ok?" Laura let JB approach Brendan. Before anyone else could say anything, Brendan took a blow to the chest that knocked him breathless to the ground. Sam held herself back, wanting to hit JB back for his blow to Brendan. Fist fighting had always been her forte. Normally, Brendan would have gotten up and hit him back, but this time he didn't. JB placed a well aimed, forceful kick at his ribs, and Brendan felt, as Sam heard, two of his ribs crack. Sam couldn't take it anymore. She gave JB a hard punch to his lower jaw.

"Sam what the hell do you think you're doing? You're making this your problem! You don't need to." Sam didn't reply to Brendan's exclamation. JB turned to her, and pulled the gun from his belt, pointing it at her.

"JB, what are you doing? Don't shoot her!" said Laura.

"Laura, what is wrong with you? Don't you know that you can't always control your muscle?" said Brendan.

"Brendan, Shut up." Laura pulled a small gun from the waist band of her pants, and pointed it at him. Brendan lay on the floor, with Laura's gun pointed at his head, looking up at Sam, who had JB's gun pointed at her chest. Everyone waited in the silence with baited breath, wondering what was going to happen next. After what seemed like many long minutes, the first shot went off, followed by two more, and two screams. Brendan scrambled to his felt, blood dripping from his shoulder where Laura's gun had hit him, then went over to Sam, who had blood all over her.

"Sam, are you alright?" Brendan asked hurriedly.

"I'm fine, this isn't my blood, it's his. He got hit, then he fired, but he missed." She pointed to JB, who lay on the ground, a bullet who through his back and all the way through.

"Who shot that?" asked Brendan.

"I thought it was you," replied Sam.

"No, it was me." Both of them turned to see Brain pointing his gun at Laura, keeping her from firing another shot.

"Oh my god!" Sam ran to him.

"Hey, thanks for coming back, but what now?"

"Amala called the cops, they should be on their way." Brain looked around, with everyone standing still around him, and several people bleeding. "Brendan, are you going to be alright?"

"I will be if I get to a hospital in due time." Sirens were heard approaching, and Sam let out a sigh of relief. A minute later, 5 armed policemen entered.

"What the hell happened here?" asked one of them.

"Long story, I'll explain in a minute, first he needs to get to a hospital," answered Brain.

"Alright, we have an ambulance coming. We are going to have to arrest everyone though until we have the full story."

"That's fine." Said Brain.

"Alright, thanks for cooperating." The cop that was talking to Brain spoke into his radio to get some back up. They took Brain, Sam, Laura, Kara, and the other out to the police cars, along with the weapons as evidence. When the ambulances came, Brendan was helped into one, while JB was put into the other.


	16. Chapter 16

Brendan woke up, at first not sure where he was. He blinked his eyes twice, and then reached around for his glasses. Finding them on a table beside the bed he was lying on, he put them on and his vision came into focus. He realized that he was in a hospital bed, and the events of the past day came back to his mind. He felt pain in his shoulder where he had been shot, and looked over to see a white bandage covering it. Then he looked around the room and saw two people sleeping in chairs by the bed. One was his mother, and the other was a girl in a green hat. He smiled and shook the girl in the green hate slowly awake. "Amala, wake up." She stirred

"Brendan? Hey." She smiled up at him. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I was just really worried about you, I mean the doctor said everything was going to be fine, but I was still really worried."

"Did Brain and Sam get off ok?"

"Sam was off right away, and Brain had to be detained a little longer because he did fire the shot that took out JB, but he got off too. Laura's in jail for now, she'll be found guilty, don't worry, everything's alright now." Amala smiled at him.

"Good, good, then can I do this now?" Brenda kissed Amala. She didn't shy away this time like she had before, instead she kissed him back, then gently pulled apart.

"Yeah, but your moms here, so not right now, besides, Brain and Sam are outside waiting to make sure you are ok." Amala started to move to go and get them, and wake his mother.

"Wait, one more thing before we tell everyone else, I love you, and not because you remind me of Emily, because you bring something out in me that no one ever could." Amala looked into Brendan's eyes, and knew he was telling the truth.

"I think I love you too." Brendan couldn't help but smiling, and watched Amala as she shook awake his mother, then left the room to go get Brain and Sam. She entered the room again rather quickly. "Actually, I don't think they're quite ready to come in yet."

Outside of Brendan's room, Sam and Brain were talking. "I'm glad you got off." Said Sam.

"I'm glad that guy didn't shoot you!"

"Yeah, me too actually," Sam couldn't help laughing at that, because honestly, she had been pretty scared those last few moments of silence.

"I was really scared that I was too late."

"What made you come back? Was it to help out Brendan?" asked Sam curiously, looking at him smiling.

"Well, partially, yeah, but that's not the only reason." Brain looked a little embarrassed.

"What else played in to it?"

"Why did you offer to stay so that I could get Amala out? Why didn't you offer to take her out?" Brain changed the subject.

"I thought you would be better suited to get her out of there, plus, you had the car keys." Sam turned slightly red also.

"Was that the only reason?"

"Well no."

"What was then?" coaxed Brain.

"I'm not telling you until you tell me what other reason you had for coming back!"

"Ok fine, I'll give it a shot." Brain took a deep breath before speaking. "I came back to make sure that you got out of there ok."

"Well, I had you go because I didn't want to see you get hurt. There, it's out." She smiled and turned away, biting her lip nervously. "You know, I've never felt this way before."

"Um, what way?"

"I've never allowed myself to like a guy before." She smiled at him.

"You can control who you like?"

"No, that's exactly it, I've always been able to control it before you, but when I met you, almost right away I felt differently. I've always been tough, and shit like that you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I've never been in love before."

"In love? So it isn't just me?" she smiled and blushed.

"Nope, it's not. I don't know if it's because we do the same type of thing or we just work right, but I never had the courage to do anything like what I did back at the alley before I met you."

"Shut up and kiss me." Sam leaned over and kissed Brain. When they broke apart, they were both unsure of what to do.

"Um do you think we should…"

"…go check on Brendan?"

"Yeah." They got up and went to Brendan's room quickly. "Hey, you're up! How are you doing?" asked Brain.

"I'm alive, thanks to you, I'm pretty sure that I've been better though."

"Brendan, we're really glad you made it through," said Sam.

"Thanks, I am too. That was quite an event. We had my mom pretty freaked by the time the bulls called her." Brendan looked over to his mom, who seemed to be happier then anyone that he was ok. "Mom, I think you could use some coffee?" Brendan's mom took the hint and left the room.

"What's up?" asked Brain.

"Did my mom get all of the details?" asked Brendan.

"No, she didn't. All that she knows is you were involved in an accident and got shot. No one thought it necessary to tell her any more then that."

"Ok, good, that's good. Anyway, Brain, I want to thank you for getting Amala out of there and to safety, and for coming back for me and Sam."

"No problem, just so you know though, it was more for her then for you." Brain motioned to Sam.

"I know, but still, thanks."

"So what now?" asked Amala.

"Now it's us. It's all over, we have each other, which is important, and that's it." Sam smiled at Amala, knowing that after this no differences could keep them from being friends.

"Alright, well, no one could ask for three better friends," was Amala's reply. Brendan smiled at her and kissed her passionately.

"Yeah, I'm going to join you there." Brain grabbed Sam and pulled her into an embrace and kiss. All four of them were happier then any of them had been in a long time, and all none of them except Brendan had ever been exposed to that sort of danger before.

THE END


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